Chapter 004: Sakayanagi, You're Holding Class B Back!
It had to be said that Ichinose was still quite capable; although Hachiman had noticed her momentary distraction, she quickly gathered her emotions and began providing intelligence on the students in the class.
The reason was that he had already seen the contents of what she was writing in her notebook. She was writing down the names of the students in the class, with the events they excelled at marked behind each name. She truly understood the students of this class very well.
Hachiman ran through the list in his mind and then spoke, "Tomorrow after school, we will conduct physical testing. After that, we'll arrange several training sessions for specific events."
Ichinose looked up, her pen pausing for a moment. "Okay. I'll notify everyone in a bit."
"Yeah." Hachiman paused. "Mandatory events are for everyone; there's not much to say there. We'll decide on the recommended events later based on the test results."
Ichinose nodded and was about to lower her head to continue writing when she suddenly looked up again. "Hikigaya-kun, there's one thing."
"What is it?"
"Data confidentiality," Ichinose mused. "It's best if the class's test results aren't known by too many people. Especially the other classes."
Hachiman glanced at her. Ichinose met his gaze without flinching.
She continued, "The other classes will definitely try to find ways to scout our situation. If they find out our physical data, they can strategically arrange their entry lists. Especially for recommended events—once the personnel assignments are figured out, it's very easy to be targeted."
Hearing this, the corner of Hachiman's mouth twitched slightly in satisfaction; Ichinose was finally being influenced by her surroundings and was no longer a little lamb. Because the old Ichinose wouldn't have thought of these things. She used to trust everyone, but now she thought about confidentiality, the risk of data leakage, and whether other classes would scout for information. The Great Saint was no longer so naive.
'Influenced by surroundings.'
He ran those words through his mind.
"You're right," Hachiman nodded. "But—"
"But?"
"Physical data is something you can't really hide." Hachiman leaned back in his chair. "Everyone is in the same school and has to train. Whether you run fast or jump high, people from other classes will know after watching a few times. What truly needs to be kept secret isn't the data."
Ichinose blinked. "Then what is it?"
"The entry list," Hachiman said. "Who competes in which event, who teams up with whom—those are the keys. If other classes know our arrangements in advance, they can adjust their entry lists accordingly. For example, if they know who we're sending for the 100-meter dash, they can send someone faster to the same heat to suppress our ranking."
Ichinose nodded thoughtfully.
"So, the real test—" Hachiman paused, "—is the loyalty of the class."
Ichinose's fingers squeezed the pen barrel slightly.
"Once the entry list is set, not many people will know it. If it leaks out, it must be one of our own." Hachiman's tone was calm. "Do you think such a person will appear in Class A?"
Ichinose barely hesitated. "No." She spoke those words softly, but with absolute certainty.
And there wasn't much to say on that point. In the original story, Class B had a traitor, but the goal was to make Class B better; now that Class B—no, they had already become Class A—how could a traitor possibly appear now?
So Hachiman looked at her and nodded. "Then there's no problem."
A few boys nearby who had been eavesdropping could finally no longer contain themselves. Shibata Souta, sitting in the front row, turned around with his hands gripping the back of his chair, wearing an expression that said "I think I just heard something incredible."
"Hikigaya-kun, Ichinose-san, are you talking about the entry list?"
Hachiman glanced at him. "Yeah."
"Then are we going to start training?" Shibata's eyes lit up. "I feel like I'm in good shape! For recommended events that need speed and physical strength, you can put me in all of them."
Shibata was the class's athletic ace and a member of the soccer club, so his strength was beyond doubt—likely only a bit behind Sudo from Class D.
"Then I'm screwed." Another voice came from the back row as Hamaguchi, wearing glasses, raised his hand with a tense expression. "My physical fitness was mediocre to begin with, and then I spent the whole break just playing video games. I regret it to death now..."
"I spent the whole break just studying... I feel like I'm going to fall behind—"
The students chimed in one after another, and the classroom gradually became lively. Some regretted not exercising during the break, some were relieved they had moved around at least a little, and others were already planning how to cram at the last minute before the exam.
Hachiman watched them discuss without stopping them; or rather, he was naturally the type who liked observing others.
However, now that the Sports Festival was beginning, some students mentioned that during this break—no, actually since the end of the VIP exam—the students of Class B had been talking about physical training. They hadn't quite understood it before, but now that the Sports Festival was announced, everyone understood instantly. It must be because Class B dropped down and, being unwilling to accept it, prepared in advance.
However. Compared to Class B, their Class A appeared much more relaxed, and an atmosphere of unease began to permeate.
Noticing the change in the class's mood, Hachiman knew he had to speak up. So he took the initiative.
"It's true that Class B was training during this break.
However, in terms of overall physical ability, they are actually the strongest even without training."
The classroom fell silent for a moment. "Then... what do we do?" Shibata's voice was a bit lower than before.
Hachiman looked at him. "Overall strength and data aren't the most important things." Shibata froze.
Hachiman continued, "Ever heard of Tian Ji's Horse Racing? Even if the opponent is very strong, if the arrangements are proper, the weak can defeat the strong.
So, there's no need to worry too much about this exam. I will make the deployments for the arrangements."
Even so. Ichinose knew that this was Hikigaya-kun habitually taking the burden onto his own shoulders again. But despite noticing this, she didn't point it out. Because this was a kindness unique to Hikigaya-kun.
At this moment, Hoshinomiya Chie stood at the podium watching this scene in the classroom. The smile was still on her lips, but her eyes held something indefinable.
The unity of this class wasn't taught by her. The cohesion of this class wasn't brought out by her. She was just standing here, watching them grow into this state on their own. From Class B to Class A, from a pile of loose sand to a tightly wound rope. She had done nothing—or rather, she hadn't done anything "right."
She thought back to her own year. Class D—the same Class D Sae Chabashira was in. Back then, they had moments of unity, and moments where they desperately charged forward together. But in the end? During the voting for expulsion exam, the class representative stood up and said, "I'll drop out." Everyone except Chabashira agreed. Including herself.
She didn't object at the time because she felt it was the only way. Someone had to be sacrificed, and since the class representative was self-sacrificing—although it was irrational—at that time, if anyone spoke up, they might have been treated as a replacement sacrifice for the class rep.
Thinking about it now, it wasn't that there were no other ways; it was that they hadn't thought to look for other ways. No one stood up to say "let's think of another path," no one said "we'll shoulder this together."
They chose the simplest method—let one person be sacrificed so the others could live.
Later, she became a teacher. She led Class B for two terms. Every class wasn't bad, but they weren't particularly great either. The students would listen to her, complete the tasks she assigned, be nervous before exams, and relax after. But that feeling of "we are together" never appeared. She thought that was normal. Class B was just like that: obedient and rule-following, but they wouldn't huddle together.
Until this year.
Hoshinomiya's gaze landed on Hachiman. The boy with the dead fish eyes was looking down at the documents, and Ichinose beside him was writing something in her notebook. There was a small distance between the two, but that sense of tacit understanding—the feeling of knowing what the other was thinking without speaking—made her feel a bit stung. It wasn't jealousy. It was an indefinable feeling, like she had missed out on something.
She withdrew her gaze and clapped her hands. "Alright, alright, that's enough discussion, right?" Her voice returned to that breezy tone. "Have you finished reading the materials? If you have questions, ask now; I won't care after class ends."
The classroom fell silent for a moment, then someone raised their hand.
"Sensei, can we use the sports field during training?"
"Yes. The school has already arranged it."
"What about equipment?"
"The equipment room will be open; go borrow it yourselves."
"Sensei, will you come to guide us?"
Hoshinomiya blinked, showing that signature smile. "Sensei is very busy, you know. But well—I might drop by to take a look occasionally." The classroom instantly erupted into a round of laughter.
Hoshinomiya stood at the podium, looking at those smiling faces, and the curve of her lips deepened a bit. Forget it. It didn't matter if she wasn't the one who brought them up. At least this class, under her watch, had become like this.
That was enough. As the final answer sheet for her teaching career.
Yes, at this moment, Hoshinomiya had actually spent the break thinking that if Chabashira resigned, she might leave as well. After all, she had originally come here out of a desire to chase or out of anger to suppress Chabashira; now that Chabashira had found closure, staying trapped in the past herself would be the height of stupidity. She just hadn't decided what to do in the future yet.
And so. The atmosphere in Class A appeared slightly tense yet somewhat relaxed, with some uncertainty regarding the future.
However. At this moment, in the current Class B classroom, the atmosphere was much heavier than in Class A. The materials had been handed out, and everyone clutched those few pages of paper. But no one spoke, and no one wrote in their notebooks. The classroom was so quiet that the Sound of wind blowing through the leaves outside could be heard.
Sakayanagi Arisu sat in the window seat, her cane leaning against the desk, with the documents spread out before her. Almost all the students in the class looked toward Sakayanagi after finishing the materials.
Because.
They really were having a Sports Festival.
In that case, having spent the entire break working hard at exercising, they would possess the strongest overall physical strength in the first year. So the students couldn't help but look at Sakayanagi, but Sakayanagi's expression was calm, and there was even a faint smile at the corner of her mouth, as if nothing had happened.
Meanwhile, Katsuragi Kohei stood beside the podium. As the class representative of Class B, he took charge of the class after the teacher announced the exam rules. At this moment, his bald head shimmered under the fluorescent lights, but the expression on his face was even more solemn than usual.
"You've all finished reading the rules, right?" Katsuragi's voice was steady as always.
"Mandatory events require everyone to participate; recommended events are voluntary. With the Red-White confrontation plus the grade rankings, a single exam can create a gap of up to 800 points.
During this break, no one has been idle. In terms of physical fitness, we should currently be the strongest in the entire school year. I have confidence in this."
Some people nodded, and some gave a soft "yeah." But no one smiled, and no one breathed a sigh of relief. Because everyone knew that being the physically strongest didn't necessarily mean they would win.
"However—" Katsuragi's tone shifted, "—you've all seen the grouping situation."
His gaze landed on the first rule of the documents. Red Group: Class A and Class C. White Group: Class B and Class D. They were currently Class B, so they were in a group with Class D.
A low murmur of discussion broke out in the classroom. "We have to team up with Class D?" someone whispered, their voice carrying an indefinable, complex emotion.
"Class D... can they even do it?"
"It's not a question of whether they can do it, it's—the gap between Class D and us is too big. We're going to be held back—"
The murmurs grew louder, but no one dared to speak out loud. They just whispered to each other at their desks, one sentence here and one there, voices kept low, but that atmosphere of unease still spread.
Katsuragi didn't stop them. Because he knew these concerns weren't without reason. He looked up, his gaze falling on the blackboard. There was nothing there, but his mind was quickly calculating.
Red-White confrontation: lose and 200 points are deducted, win and 200 are added. Grade ranking: first place adds 200, last place deducts 200. In other words, if they lost the Red-White confrontation, even if they took first place in the grade, they would just break even. If they lost the Red-White confrontation and didn't take first in the grade ranking—
He calculated the numbers in his head, his brow furrowing deeper. "In the Red-White confrontation, we are in a group with Class D," Katsuragi finally continued. "And the opposing Red Group consists of Class A and Class C."
He didn't finish the sentence, but everyone understood. The opposition was Class A and Class C. Although Class C wasn't ranked high, Ryuen was never an easy opponent. Anyone could feel Class C's determination to climb up. And then there was Class A—the current Class A, Hikigaya Hachiman's Class A.
And this time, with those two classes joining forces, it was undoubtedly a combination of the strong and the strong.
Having realized this, the classroom fell silent once again.
Because Hikigaya Hachiman had already cast an incredibly massive shadow over them.
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